Pothi

Pothi, a popular Punjabi word derived from the Sanskrit - pustaka (book), from the root - pust (to bind) via the Pali - potlhaka and Prakrit - puttha. Besides Punjabi, the word pothi meaning a book is current in Maithili, Bhojpuri and Marathi languages as well. Among the Sikhs, however, pothi signifies a sacred book, especially one containing gurbani or scriptural texts and of a moderate size, generally larger than a gutka but smaller than the Adi Granth, although the word is used even for the latter in the index of the original recension prepared by Guru Arjan which is now preserved at Kartarpur, near Jalandhar.

In the Puratan Janam Sakhi, the earliest known written account of the life story of Guru Nanak, the book of hymns which he gave to his successor Guru Angad, is called a pothi. Guru Arjan, Nanak Five, probably alluding to the Adi Granth pronounces pothi to be "the abode of God" for it contains "complete knowledge of God" (GG, 1226). At several places in the Guru Granih Sahib, pothi refers to sacred books of the Hindus as distinguished from those of the Muslims for which the words used are Kitab or Quran.